1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and a system in which Wi-Fi devices share support information on functions that they support by transmitting/receiving the support information to/from each other and provide Wi-Fi services based on the shared support information.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of wireless technology, wired networks that were once used by many people have recently been replaced by wireless networks. Namely, since wireless technology can address the problem of restriction on mobility that a wired network has, research on technologies that use a wireless network has been actively conducted. Also, the propagation and use of various portable terminals have recently rapidly increased due to the remarkable development of information communication technology, semiconductor technology, etc. More particularly, recent portable terminals provide a mobile convergence phase in which they do not stay in a traditional domain but covers domains of other terminals. As an example, a mobile communication terminal has various additional functions, which include a Television (TV) viewing function (e.g. mobile broadcasting such as Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) or Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB)), a music playback function (e.g. Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer-3 (MP-3), a function for taking photos, a Wi-Fi connection function, etc., as well as typical communication functions (e.g. a voice phone call and message transmission/reception).
A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is also known as “Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi)” because a wireless network can be conveniently used, similar to high-fidelity (hi-fi) audio. In the WLAN, the Internet can be accessed through a portable terminal or a notebook computer within a predetermined radius an Access Point (AP). Thus, the WLAN, which has the potential of an open-type wireless network, is being rapidly spread along with the popularization of portable terminals. Currently, Wi-Fi is being used to provide high-speed data services to various locations including schools, airports, hotels, offices, etc.
However, there is a problem in that a connection function essential for a Wi-Fi service is inconvenient. Accordingly, a portable terminal supporting the Wi-Fi provides a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) function for simple and easy settings from a wireless connection to a security setting. Namely, each Wi-Fi device currently provides a function capable of setting a secure connection between Wi-Fi devices by pressing a particular button assigned by the WPS function or by directly inputting a given PIN code.
However, the above WPS function is not widely recognized by general users. Also, the WPS function has the inconvenience of requiring a user to manually press a particular assigned button or manually input multiple digits of a Personal Identification Number (PIN) code. Further, each portable convergence terminal, which has recently been propagated, requires a new process for a Wi-Fi connection in addition to the existing convergence function. Accordingly, inconvenience is caused to users of the portable convergence terminals.